Abstract
Due to a lack of a food composition database on starch and sugars, we developed a comprehensive database on starch and seven types of sugars in commonly consumed foods (n = 2222) in Japan. Dietary record data of 368 toddlers (aged 18–35 months), 376 preschool children (aged 3–6 years), 915 schoolchildren (aged 8–14 years) and 392 adults (aged 20–69 years) were used. The mean starch intake ranged from 55.6 g/day (female toddlers) to 206.0 g/day (male schoolchildren). Irrespective of age and sex, >50% of starch was provided by rice and grains. The mean total sugar intake ranged from 46.1 g/day (female toddlers) to 68.7 g/day (male schoolchildren). In all age and sex groups, the major contributors of total sugar included sucrose (mean: 18.2–34.0 g/day), glucose (7.8–13.1 g/day), lactose (5.3–13.1 g/day) and fructose (7.6–11.1 g/day). The top food sources were dairy products (toddlers) and confectionaries (other age groups) for total sugar, confectionaries for sucrose, fruits (toddlers) and vegetables (other age groups) for glucose, dairy products for lactose and fruits (toddlers and preschool children) and vegetables (schoolchildren and adults) for fructose. In conclusion, this study clarified the starch and sugar intake in Japan and provides a foundation for future research.
Highlights
Much attention has recently been given to the potential influences of dietary carbohydrates on human health [1]
We developed a comprehensive database on starch and seven types of sugars and estimated starch and sugar intake and their food sources in Japan
The estimated intake in each sex and age group is shown in Table 2 and Table S5
Summary
Much attention has recently been given to the potential influences of dietary carbohydrates on human health [1]. Many countries [1,2] because of positive associations with an increased risk of dental caries [3], obesity [4], type 2 diabetes [5], cardiovascular diseases [6,7] and pancreatic cancer [8]. Potential associations between starch and saccharides (such as sucrose, lactose, maltose, trehalose, glucose, fructose and galactose) and health status have not been completely investigated or are controversial [8,9]. Sucrose is considered the most cariogenic carbohydrate, whereas starch, galactose and trehalose are lesser cariogenic than sucrose [10,11]. With regard to type 2 diabetes, Nutrients 2018, 10, 1474; doi:10.3390/nu10101474 www.mdpi.com/journal/nutrients
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